Costco tires - which is most efficient?

[jbrams]

It's way past time to get new tires for my 1991 Camry Station Wagon (yeah, it's a babe magnet).

I'm a fan of costco for their replacement policy and good (if rarely "the best") prices.

This leaves me with basically two options to buy during their $60 off 4 tires promotion:

(1) BFGoodrich Premier Touring

or

(2) BFGoodrich Traction T/A

These seem very similar, but does anyone know if one will stand up to higher tire pressures or provide lower rolling resistance?

I'm in California (Bay Area) for what it's worth (not terrible rain, no snow, mostly dry).

[ttoyoda]

I take it you have 13 inch rims like I do?
That made me go to BJs wholesale club to get Michelins (44 psi max), when I normally get most stuff at sams club. I decided (after much internal debate) that the tire I got mattered more than where I got it. I realize this is not what you want to hear, sorry 'bout that.

[Red]

Some Insight owners claim the Traction T/As are a sticky tire when compared to the Bridgestone RE92s. Never owned either one of those BFGs personally, so take it as you will

[jbrams]

Originally Posted by Red

Some Insight owners claim the Traction T/As are a sticky tire when compared to the Bridgestone RE92s. Never owned either one of those BFGs personally, so take it as you will

Is sticky good? Or is it just a sign of better handling?

I take it you have 13 inch rims like I do?

14" actually. (tire size 185/70SR14)

That made me go to BJs wholesale club to get Michelins (44 psi max), when I normally get most stuff at sams club. I decided (after much internal debate) that the tire I got mattered more than where I got it. I realize this is not what you want to hear, sorry 'bout that.

Meh, I'm resigned to Costco as my shop - just curious if there's a potential difference in efficiency between these two tire models. Thanks for the info though, I'll be sure to look for max PSI differences.

[Red]

Sticky as in higher rolling resistance. more grip

[2001Jeep]

I get all my tires from Costco. I go with Michelins. They seem to generally be a harder tire thus they have a much better tread wear rating than some others. There was another post on here concerning LRR tires and several Michelin tires came up on the list.

You may want to look at more than Rolling Resistance when choosing tires. Better Tread wear will lengthen the life of the tire which will also save you money. Obviously it is better for the environment too.

[Shawn D.]

I can understand the convenience and price of Costco (I'm a member), but their selection isn't the best. Also note that they will only install the OE tire size on the car.

Have you considered using Tire Rack? They're my #1 choice, with a great selection and very good prices (even when shipping is factored in). The only time I don't buy from them is when they don't sell the tires I'm looking for (i.e. the Falken Azenis RT-615s I use for autocrossing).

[jbrams]

Originally Posted by 2001Jeep

I get all my tires from Costco. I go with Michelins. They seem to generally be a harder tire thus they have a much better tread wear rating than some others. There was another post on here concerning LRR tires and several Michelin tires came up on the list.

You may want to look at more than Rolling Resistance when choosing tires. Better Tread wear will lengthen the life of the tire which will also save you money. Obviously it is better for the environment too.

Good points, though I'm not too worried about where the tires will be in 50 or 70 thousand more miles as the car will be approaching a total of 160,000 to 185,000 miles and I'm guessing tires will be the least of my concerns (or I'll have upgraded to a Prius - the long term plan).

I can understand the convenience and price of Costco (I'm a member), but their selection isn't the best. Also note that they will only install the OE tire size on the car.

I agree with you there, but I don't need/want a non-OE size as I'm on the OE rims and the tire is already fairly thin (sounds odd, I mean it's not wide, eh?). I do wish they had better selection, but unless I can get a substantially more efficient tire (LRR and low tread ware without dramatic loss of handling) then I'm resigned to the Costco selection. Their replacement program is too good to pass up.

Have you considered using Tire Rack? They're my #1 choice, with a great selection and very good prices (even when shipping is factored in). The only time I don't buy from them is when they don't sell the tires I'm looking for (i.e. the Falken Azenis RT-615s I use for autocrossing).

I do like tirerack for their reviews (here's their TA review) and if I found (or heard of) a better tire for a similar price then I would probably get it from Tirerack. But for now, the price is worse for these tires (especially with the Costco $60 off 4 tires discount) and I don't see a reason to use them yet.

[ttoyoda]

in 50 or 70 thousand more miles as the car will be approaching a total of 160,000 to 185,000 miles and I'm guessing tires will be the least of my concerns

So it will just be getting broken in? I have 205,000 on my highest mile toyota alltrac wagon that goes on the road every day. My only problem is rust. Keep the oil changed often, thats the only secret.

If you do a spreadsheet with the payback time of a gas-saving prius, you might be surprised how long it takes to justify the intial cost in terms of gas saved.

I wish I had paid more attention to max tire pressure for a previous set of tires for another of my wagons: pirelli with a max of only 36 psi.
That was before I found this site, so I have *some* excuse.

[jbrams]

Originally Posted by ttoyoda

So it will just be getting broken in? I have 205,000 on my highest mile toyota alltrac wagon that goes on the road every day. My only problem is rust. Keep the oil changed often, thats the only secret.

Due for an oil change in 450 miles =)
I know it may be around still, but I also suspect that some minor transmission issues today may be major transmission problems in the next 50K miles, so longevity is good, but not the priority.

If you do a spreadsheet with the payback time of a gas-saving prius, you might be surprised how long it takes to justify the intial cost in terms of gas saved.

Well, I don't have the prius to include in my calculations yet - I'm planning on getting a new car in 2010, so it would be a 2010 prius (probable $25,000) or a used 2004+ prius (then maybe a cheap as $13,000). Part of my improvement will also be a much nicer car, though I love the Camry Wagon, it's not exactly the bee's knees nor a spring chicken.

I wish I had paid more attention to max tire pressure for a previous set of tires for another of my wagons: pirelli with a max of only 36 psi.
That was before I found this site, so I have *some* excuse.

Tell me about it.

Any one with specific knowledge about the BFG tires I mentioned in terms of which:
(1) will give me lower rolling resistance?
(2) has a higher max PSI?
(3) has less material (better for environment in shipping/eventual waste) and lower weight (less rotational mass)?
(4) has other good hypermiling attributes?

Thanks a million!